By msparks714
“What language are they speaking?” I could hear over my shoulder…wait what language are they asking that question in? Turkish, right, that’s where we are. It all just seemed too natural. “Englisch.” I heard the other man reply.
“Möchten Sie auch ein Tee?”
Ja, gerne. Dankeschön.
The languages are really starting to become a puzzle of my own. Half the thoughts are flooding in to my brain in a steady stream of Englisch and then there’s the moments where I can’t express myself in my mother tongue and had to call my mom to reassure me how the word ‘apple’ is spelt. Exploring the ever increasing love for languages, exploring the new found love of different cultures tucked away so gently into the fold of this city.
The group of men sitting behind me seem baffled and amazed. We all are crowded around tables in the one heated room on property and the man has just come over and served me tea, complimented by a sugar cube. After riding here half an hour by bike with frost on the ground, this is much appreciated. I could write a book about coffee and tea culture in the world but now is not that time.
One last sip and it’s gone, now into the next room. The guide began with a long explanation of the history of this place and how special it is, the burial process and he told us about the family running around frantically behind us that morning because a loved one had just passed the night before and so the family was preparing food for anyone who may come today while the body is washed and prepared for burial.
“Und jetzt habe ich eine Frage. Was müssen Sie tun, bevor Sie in eine Moschee gehen?” sagte er.
“Ziehen die Schuhe aus.” antworten wir.
We all marched up the steps of the absolutely beautifully designed and yet simplistic building, bent down, took off our shoes and entered into the expansive room. There were no chairs, there was no crying baby room and no candles lit asking for an offering. We sat down on the green carpet facing the front window wall, the one that directs prayers directly to Mecca. The guide explained more about the history of the building, the religion, and most importantly the significance of everything that we were looking at in the room. The symbols for stars, flowers, trees, grass–all things inside of the building are only things that can be found in nature. “We can’t recreate anything that God made, we can only bring it inside the buildings that we were able to build.” It was breathtaking.
Compared to old gothic style cathedrals, everything in here seemed to glow beautifully with bright natural colours. The intricate walls were coated in calligraphy explaining the history of prophets, prayers, and the name of الله. The best part came when we had an open discussion about what the difference between the three main monotheistic religions in the world were. (A rough translation of the conversation is to follow.)
“The difference between Judaism, Christianity and Islam? Well to be honest, they are 95% the same…I honestly think that the prophets are where we get a little separated. Jews aren’t into the idea of Jesus, Christians aren’t into the idea of Mohammad and well for some reason now we all want to argue about it. And like I said at the beginning when I greeted you, I said As-salāmu ʿalaykum or “Peace be unto you.” The answer you would give is Waʿalaykumu s-salām and that translates to the equivalent of peace be also with you.”
He paused for a minute and then he asked the question…”Does that not sound extremely familiar for some of you who may have grown up in a Christian church?”
Yeah. I mean we start service by saying hello and sharing the peace, I have always just done it in English, people in Germany do it in German…what is the difference if I say my greeting in Arabic?
There are many amazing things I learned and took away from the mosque visit. The guide was really inspiring and everyone at the complex made us feel extremely welcomed.We were allowed to take photos, ask questions, and really have an open dialogue that reassured me that there’s not so much difference between all the different belief systems in the world. Everyone I met there is a human being who had opened up their space to me for a day. The things I took away from that visit humbled me, brought me back to a reality, and gave me a little more faith in humanity.
I was tired of there being a constant search for ‘right’ and ‘wrong.’ This experience opened my eyes to remember just to continue the open-mindedness, the conversation, and the understanding and respect. These are the things I believe in, not a persecution of others based on differences but rather an acceptance based in our binding qualities.